December 6, 2008

Meet the Grant Recipients, Part I

We have seven new members who were selected to receive mini-grants from the History Commons for their excellent proposals. Let’s meet two of them now.

The first is P. Devlin Buckley, who describes himself as a “[f]reelance researcher, writer and web designer residing in upstate New York.” Devlin writes of his project, “I will be documenting the history of the Continuity of Government (COG) program, one of the most highly classified government projects to ever exist. First devised nearly 60 years ago to protect top government officials during a nuclear conflict, the program has evolved considerably since the days of the Cold War. Officially activated for the first time in history during the 9/11 attacks, the ultra secretive COG plans may now be used to suspend the Constitution in the event of any potential national emergency. My timeline will trace the progression the program from its inception in the late 1940s to its current status and its role in the war against terrorism.”

The second recipient to be profiled is Rachael Flynt, who describes herself as “a college English and Speech teacher on her way to happy early retirement.” Rachael is going to focus initially on the death of US soldier Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, “the three and a half years of investigations and hearings after it, and the as-yet unanswered concerns” of Tillman’s family and friends. Rachael also writes that after covering the Tillman situation in some depth, she will “widen the scope of [my] focus to include sources bearing on the Bush administration’s initiation and prosecution of the war in Afghanistan.”

The History Commons is pleased and proud to welcome two such fine contributors to the ranks. As I hear from other recipients, I will introduce them to the Commons user/contributor audience in later posts.